blast cleaning the engine?

[ross]

hey there folks...i know, long time no chat, but been 2 busy working and riding..god knows the riding weather here has been great....i guess this might be one for the guru's, but maybe not....i have come upon a dry ice blast cleaning machine that is pretty d*mn cool...adjustable pressure and feed....i have used it on steel and it works very well and does not damage the finish of a polished die...was wondering what effects it would have on 30 year old aluminum?....was thinking about trying a engine side cover and see what happens..if it works, i know the side cover will stand out against the dirty engine..just worried about seals and such.....if i do try the engine, i will not linger around the main seal areas and i will post many photos of results....finally, as i look around the new xs11space.com, i think i might like the changes......not sure yet (ONLY IF PROM IS MY FRIEND!).....but back to the matter at hand, any advice in doing this would be appreciated.....thanx in advance....ross


p.s. hehehehehe....I'M BACK!

[prometheus578]

Boy, you must have been gone a while... to forget that no one is my friend.
Uhm.. better put... "I'm friends with no one."
Be that as it may....
I may, in the future, look a little more kindly upon you if you'd explain what a "dry ice blast cleaning machine" is, how it functions and what it's usually used for.
I've bead blasted engine parts before, like heads. Gives a uniform "Brushed Aluminium" look. Would this do any different?

[fredintoon]

Hi Ross,
welcome back. As I remember shot-blasting the blast medium ripped the crud off of metal but bounced off rubber parts without too much harm.
Hi prom,
it works like this:-
http://www.coldjet.com/en/informatio...es-it-work.php
As the unit uses dry ice as the blast medium you can blast the motor without tearing it down or even with it still in the frame
so long as you mask off the surrounding parts.
If that machine is in any way affordable you gonna see lots more clean motors around.

[rpgoerlich]

Look forward to the result for sure!
A couple years ago I had an 80 XJ650 that was a mess from sitting 13 years with old fuel all over it. Got the hand bead blaster out in the front yard after taping and plugging everything. Came out good. Thought about a soda blaster... price is up there though.

Grew up not far from ya, over on Lake St Clair in New Baltimore. Brother still has an old rental house over on Euclid in Mt Clemens..

[prometheus578]

"Hey... no kiddin'!"

Never heard o' dat.
That's pretty cool (No pun intended)
Uhm... do ya think it costs more than my Harbor Freight sand blaster?
HAhahahahaa
Hmm.. wonder how they get the dry ice down to grain o' sand pellet size?

[rpgoerlich]

prometheus578, have you tried using the walnut shells with your yet ?

[tarzan]

must be expensive

I searched on line.I only find product info ,but no prices.You must have to call to find out.It would have to refrigerate so I bet its pricey.

[prometheus578]

I'd have to go out to the shed and check, Richard. I don't recall which media I was using. I think it was silica beads.

[trbig]

"I'm friends with no one."

Wanna bet??

Tod (No one)

[rpgoerlich]

I'd have to go out to the shed and check, Richard. I don't recall which media I was using. I think it was silica beads.

I was curious as to how the walnut shells cleaned. I too used the silica beads.

[prometheus578]

I'm too tired to research right now, but I believe that, due to the different hardness' of the media, you'd end up with a different finish on the product.

[renegade_xs11g]

Hey, Ross HOW THE HECK HAVE 'YA BEEN!!!!!!!!

If you get access to one of them whatchamacallit's and want a few parts to experiment on.......